Tag: chelsea degree show

So sorry for the radio silence – the past few weeks have been filled with doing rather than writing! Here’s a round up. (Warning – lots of pics!)

Kent workshops

I had a wonderful time at the two workshops I ran in Kent on felting and ecoprinting. Two very enthusiastic groups of ladies made some beautiful work. Hopefully we will be able to arrange some more workshops in the future.

And Miles Visman constructed a fascinating colour exercise showing how embroidered panels change under different lighting:

Inspired by nature

I spent a lovely weekend in Deal in the gorgeous cottage of a friend, going for walks on the beach and in the countryside and sitting in the garden.

Dead hollyhock:

I thought this was a giant dandelion but I’m told it’s meadow salsify:

Spot the crab (or ex-crab):

Work in progress

I’ve been experimenting with coloured backgrounds in ecoprinting:

And I’ve also been trying some weaving with palm fronds. In my back garden is some kind of palm. I don’t know what it is or how it got there – I didn’t plant it! The lower part has lots of dead fronds so as I was tidying it up a bit I thought I would try a bit of weaving with them. They are surprisingly easy to work with and I like the frayed ends where they were removed from the trunk.

It’s time for the summer degree shows again, but I’ve been so busy I only made it to Chelsea this year. Still, it was well worth it – here are my personal favourites from the 60 or so students who were exhibiting.

I loved Rhona Dalling‘s small 3D sculptures that explored stretching materials to produce forms inspired by the textures and structures of fruit, vegetables and flowers.

Emi Fujisawa experimented with weaving using natural dyed silk and copper wire that she then patinated – so the piece will change with colour over time. Great website too, showing how her ideas developed.

Still on constructed textiles. I loved the origami pleating in Lyonard‘s knitted garments, made from mulberry silk,, linen and mercerised cotton (right).

And Kamilah Rebecca Ahmed pioneered an innovative thread “wrapping” technique, to produce fabrics that resembled airy weavings, although the threads don’t actually interlock. She admits that it’s not terribly practical for everyday garments, but the effect is beautiful. Sorry – no photos, as she doesn’t have a website or blog.

And Katherine Ingram‘s “mutant” forms, inspired by David Attenborough’s latest TV series, incorporated shibori-like textures and prints along with 3D textures from found objects. Again – no pictures and no website.

Lots of digital printing as usual – but fewer homages to Pater Pilotto/Mary Katrantzou, I’m pleased to say. Stephanie Ann Woolven created delicate flower print bridal dresses, some of which were based on India Flint’s hapa zome technique of beating flowers on fabric to release their colour. No website or photos I’m afraid.

Finally, some honourable mentions to Sophie Louise Hurley-Walker for her contemporary batik, Caroline Cox for her trendy wet weather gear, and Ann-Marie Milward for her prints of geometric cymatic patterns (patterns formed by particles such as sand in response to sound waves). See the video below for an example of this working in action – fascinating!